WEATHERING WINTER: What a long, cold trip it's been

Now that it’s time to turn the clocks ahead, surely spring has to be right around the corner.

Prolonged bitter cold and considerably above-average snowfall has made this winter season feel like a particularly long one.

And March came in like a lion, with 3.1 inches of snow through Saturday, pushing the total snowfall for the season to 69.1 inches, according to AccuWeather. The National Weather Service, which uses a different reporting station, recorded 65.8 inches for the season. That compares to 45.4 inches last year and a 30-year average of 49.4 inches. For comparison purposes, the snowiest winter in Pittsburgh was 1950-51, when the city was inundated with 82 inches — likely more in Indiana County.

Cold persisted for the first two months of the year. The average temperature in January was 19, compared to the normal average of 28. In February, those numbers were 22.1 and 30.8, respectively.

But, after a frigid January and decidedly snowy February, we’re starting to see and hear the birds gradually returning from their winter vacations and temperatures consistently climbing above the freezing mark. And it won’t take too many pleasant spring days to forget about the foul weather.

Photo Gallery - Weathering Winter

The original art for the first appearance of Wolverine — a ferocious fighting mutant with a penchant for beer and cigars — will be auctioned in May in a sale to benefit the Hero Initiative, the group that strives to aid comic book creators in times of financial need.

Heritage Auctions said Wednesday that the artwork drawn by Herb Trimpe 40 years ago for “The Incredible Hulk&rdqu